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The Lost 13
The Lost 13 is the name of the second volume (Chapters _-_) of Night Visions, referring to thirteen missing children who turn up raped and dead. It follows John Harrow's investigation of these murders, leading him to uncover secrets that go far higher up than he ever imagined. This arc heavily involves Cassius Brand, the Headhunter. Synopsis In the span of several months, thirteen children go missing, all from extremely impoverished families. John Harrow and Norman Pines are assigned to investigate, but have little to go on until one of the children's bodies is found in the Halloway River. Their investigation leads them to cross paths with Headhunter, who believes someone involved with the human trafficking operation he dismantled in the Middle East is at work here. The only person with military affiliation who was deployed in the same area at the same time is Lieutenant Robert Marks. They have no evidence of his involvement, but highly suspect him, prompting Pines to set him up by paying off a prostitute, obtaining audio clips that suggest his crimes. However, this isn't enough, and the unscrupulous means by which the evidence was obtained make things hairy for Harrow and Pines. Finding that the federal justice system is taking far too long to get results, Headhunter takes matters into his own hands, abducting Marks and torturing him. However, he kills himself by biting off his own tongue before Headhunter can obtain any information. Meanwhile, before learning of Marks' death, Harrow tries to deduce who his collaborators are, deciding to look into a charitable organization founded by Marks and another former military officer, Frank Sampson, claiming to exist for the sole purpose of raising money for veterans. He visits Arms Dealer to help him learn more about Sampson's classified military background, and learns that while he wasn't present in Afghanistan during the human trafficking, he is listed as heading up a covert operations team, just like the one that Cassius Brand was a part of. Despite Harrow's request otherwise, Arms Dealer contacts Headhunter with this information, pitting Harrow and he in a race to get to Sampson. Their charitable organization plans to hold a gala in the upcoming weeks, which Harrow sees as his opportunity to get more information. When he arrives, he notices the signs that Headhunter is already there, probably watching from a nearby rooftop. While Sampson gives a speech and the attendees are clustered in the main ballroom, Harrow sneaks away to search Sampson's office, downloading an encrypted folder on his computer. However, he's confronted by one of Sampson's guards, who points a gun at him. Headhunter reluctantly misses his chance to kill Sampson in order to save Harrow, sniping the guard through the window, alerting the rest of the security team and plunging the gala into chaos. Sampson, fearing that his secret might be revealed, hurries to his office in order to wipe his hard drive, but is confronted by Harrow who is waiting for him with the incriminating evidence in hand. In a tense stand-off, with several armed guards pointing guns at Harrow while Harrow points one at Sampson, Harrow offers Sampson the flash drive back in exchange for the names of his co-conspirators. Headhunter has him trained in sights, intending to shoot him as soon as he gives up the information, but is attacked by a mysterious figure who manages to knock him off the roof. He survives the fall, but is unable to stop the figure from using his own rifle to kill Sampson after revealing only one name, but it's a big one - Senator Richard Scott. Despite having damning evidence in hand, Harrow is suspended from the force after the death of Sampson is pinned on Cassius Brand and he is suspected of collaborating with a wanted criminal. Pines continues to investigate, but is hampered by his new partner, a recent transfer who is being paid by Senator Scott to protect their secrets. Harrow joins Headhunter in hiding as they plan how to deal with Scott. They identify two points of interest - finding who does the dirty work, actually capturing the victims, and the logistics of transport. While Headhunter visits Fatal Fist to try and find out who is kidnapping the kids, Harrow goes to a shipping yard owned by a company that donates annually to Scott's campaign. When he questions some of the workers, they distrust him, and he is attacked by the same person that attacked Headhunter previously. In a mostly one-sided fight through a maze of shipping containers, Harrow ends up trapped in one, littered with signs that people had been kept in there previously, managing to send a message to Pines before his phone dies. Pines, unaware that his partner is a double agent, takes him to rescue Harrow. After releasing Harrow from the container and realizing that it contains damning evidence, he attempts to kill the both of them, critically injuring Pines in the process. However, they manage to overpower and arrest him. Meanwhile, some members of the Bastards, on watch for shady activity, notice a strange man wearing a baseball cap low over his face and nondescript, black clothes. He goes in to a mall nearby, where he approaches a young girl and leaves with her, holding her hand. When he gets to his getaway car parked in the mall's garage, he is confronted by Headhunter and Fatal Fist. They find that he's a former soldier, disgracefully discharged, but doesn't answer to Senator Scott. Instead, it's far more sinister - he answers to the Zone 13 Chief of Police. As Pines is rushed to the hospital and Harrow heads for the station, Headhunter tries to contact him to warn him, but Harrow's phone had already died. He arrives at the station with Pines' partner in tow, greeted by the Chief, who feigns surprise, but dispatches assassins to the hospital after learning of Pines' condition. In discussing the issue with the Chief, he realizes that the Chief knows things that he couldn't know without being involved somehow, allowing him to see it coming when two other officers attack him while taking Pines' partner to a holding cell. He escapes and is picked up by Headhunter, rushing to the hospital to prevent Pines from being killed. He also placed one of Headhunter's tracking devices underneath the Chief's personal car on his way out, and sees that he is headed for a special place - Senator Scott's local office. In a surprising move, Harrow tells Headhunter to go to the hospital to save Pines, while he gets out and heads to Scott's office on foot, knowing that the Chief won't expect him there. Meanwhile, Headhunter arrives at the hospital and fights off the ordinary police officers that are dispatched, but comes up once again against the mysterious man-in-black, who finally speaks and calls himself Menace, clarifying that his only allegiance is to someone called the "Contractor" and whoever pays him. Headhunter realizes he can't beat Menace, but is able to appeal to whatever vestiges of morality he has by describing what happens to the girls that are captured, based on what he saw in the Middle East. Menace leaves, but not before shooting Pines, in order to get paid. Luckily, before the fight, Headhunter placed a kevlar panel underneath his gown laced with blood packets. In the ensuing conflict between Harrow, Senator Scott, and the Chief, Harrow is shot in the right arm and stabbed several times. Believing Harrow to be dead, the Chief turns on Scott to save his own hide, intending on making it seem like he and Harrow came together to apprehend him, but Harrow shoots him first. Scott, who had been conflicted about the whole operation, gives himself up and agrees to testify against all those involved, receiving a more lenient sentence. In the aftermath, not all is well, despite Harrow's victory. Pines, disappointed and upset that Harrow didn't come to help him, becomes distant and cold towards him, and Harrow earns himself a lot of enemies among the friends of those he took down. They wait for the new Chief of Police to be announced.